The NEW Zoo and Adventure Park in Suamico unveiled the newest addition to their Great Plains exhibit. The enclosure for the prairie dogs and badger features tunnels and bubble windows for visitor viewing.


SUAMICO - A badger and a group of prairie dogs aren't the only ones tunneling through NEW Zoo's newest exhibit — zoo-goers are getting in on the action, too. 

The NEW Zoo & Adventure Park unveiled its Great Plains exhibit Wednesday, and children and parents alike were quick to try out its interactive human-sized tunnels.

Visitors can crawl through ground-level tunnels built underneath the raised exhibit and, much like the prairie dog, pop up above ground in the middle of the enclosure. Those adventurous enough to do so are able to meet some new furry friends face-to-face from within the safety of a viewing bubble. 

"It was amazing. It was like you were right inside the exhibit," Zachary Krogh, 10, of De Pere, said. 

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Krogh spent one of his last days before school starts watching from inside one of the bubbles as a park staff member released seven prairie dogs into their new home. 

"It was cool that I saw the prairie dogs trying to familiarize themselves with their new surroundings," he said.

Construction of the $100,000 exhibit began two years ago. It is the first major exhibit renovation in six years and is part of the zoo's larger Great Plains exhibit, which includes elk, bison, pronghorn, burrowing owls and black-footed ferrets.

The new enclosure is a small part of a long-term $39 million plan to upgrade the zoo and turn it and the adventure park into an all-seasons destination.

The new space, located near the American bison exhibit, measures about 60 feet by 30 feet and is divided by a glass window and wall to separate the prairie dogs and badger. Each side of the exhibit has a tunnel for visitor viewing.

NEW Zoo director Neil Anderson said a key idea in creating new zoo exhibits is to design things in ways that are enriching for both the animals and people, while promoting respect for all living things. 

"We really wanted to include this nature-play concept," he said. "We want visitors to immerse themselves into the environment and get a feel through playing what it would be like, for example, to be a prairie dog or badger and see that eye to eye." 

The old prairie dog and badger exhibits were in serious need of upgrades, Anderson said.

The enclosures were a combination of a pit and moat that only allowed visitors to look at the animals from above. The animals could not see beyond the walls that surrounded them, and the enclosures flooded when it rained.

The new homes for the badger and prairie dogs are raised — the highest point reaching 8 feet above ground. They're filled with native prairie grasses and flowers and contain a mixture of sand and clay that allows the animals to really make themselves at home by digging new tunnels and burrows. 

That's exactly what Carmen Murach, curator of animals at the NEW Zoo, expects the animals to spend most of their time doing as they become acclimated to the new exhibit. 

As for the new type of human interaction, she said the animals will get used to it very quickly and embrace it. 

"It will actually make their lives more interesting as well," she said. "Almost all of the animals here were born in captivity so they're accustomed to having people around and get some enjoyment out of watching the people, too." 

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